George Clooney has addressed rumours about his sexuality, saying he "doesn't
give a s---" if people think he is gay.

Clooney, a prominent campaigner for legalising same-sex marriage in the United States, said people would probably continue to speculate even after he is dead, and that he didn't care.

He told gay and lesbian news magazine The Advocate: "I think it’s funny, but the last thing you’ll ever see me do is jump up and down saying 'These are lies!' That would be unfair and unkind to my good friends in the gay community.

"I’m not going to let anyone make it seem like being gay is a bad thing. My private life is private, and I’m very happy in it. Who does it hurt if someone thinks I’m gay? I’ll be long dead and there will still be people who say I was gay. I don’t give a s---."

Clooney, 50 was married once to actress Talia Balsam but divorced in 1993.

He has since dated a string of glamorous women including British model Lisa Snowdon and Italian television presenter Elisabetta Canalis. He is currently seeing Stacy Keibler, an American actress and former professional wrestler.

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Making a comparison with Cary Grant, who some people still claim was gay, Clooney said he thought the late star "would have laughed at that and not cared what people thought."

He added: "You know, you live your life well, you treat people well, and you hope that other people won’t make stories up about you, but they will anyway. It is what it is."

Asked why he hadn't played a gay role on film Clooney said the right one had not come along so far.

He said: "There are a bunch of interesting stories out there, but I just haven’t found a screenplay with a gay subject that felt right for me as something that I could direct or act in.

"I’m certainly not avoiding it. Whether it’s about being gay or it just happens to have a gay character, if it’s a great screenplay let’s go do it."

Rumours about Clooney's sexuality were fuelled when his friend Brad Pitt, also a campaigner in favour of same-sex marriage, joked that he would not marry his partner Angelina Jolie until Clooney could legally marry his partner.

Clooney told The Advocate that Pitt was "being funny about it because he knows that the best and most effective way to end marriage inequality is to point out the ridiculousness of it."